which some celebrated writers have accounted for the invention of the alphabet; an opinion which is often alluded to in works on antiquities, and is therefore apt to mislead those who have not paid much attention to the subject, inasmuch as it refers to times and to persons of whom no critical and authentic records have reached us; for it is pretended that the discovery of the alphabet preceded the flood, and is due to Enoch. It is said, in fact, that Enoch communicated this invention to Methuselah, and this patriarch to Noah, by whose family it was gradually spread among their descendants, and carried into the different countries which they went to inhabit, as they separated under their respective leaders. It is further stated, that Noah brought it into China, where it underwent considerable changes, without being much improved; that some of the descendants of Shem cultivated it amongst the Jews; while his son Elam imparted it to the Persians, whose language is pretended to be a dialect of the Hebrew; at the same time that the children of Joktan carried this alphabet into Arabia, whose language is also asserted to be another dialect of the Hebrew. In proof of this last assertion, the book of Job is quoted, which is said to have been written in this dialect. And lastly, that by Ham and his son Misraim this alphabet was introduced into Egypt, where, in process of time the priests, to conceal what they call abominable doctrines, substituted hieroglyphical for alphabetical characters.

Having thus disposed of all the African and Asiatic languages, to prevent the objection that might be urged from the difference of the European, which cannot be deduced from the Hebrew, it is stated that Cadmus first conceived the idea of generalizing this alphabet, by rendering it suitable to the characteristic principles of every distinct language. This he did by inventing sixteen letters, which he afterwards carried into Greece, and on which account he is considered as the inventor of the alphabet.

To complete the whole, it is finally urged, that the descendants of Japheth conveyed the same letters, and the same language, to the more remote parts of the world, differing from one another by the different shades arising from the fresh migrations, as they issued forth from the East, or from the colonies which had been planted in different countries from the parent stock.

To solve or prevent the objections that might be produced against this fanciful theory, the Hebrew language is made the mother tongue of all languages; and thus not only the Persian, the Phonician, and the Arabic are considered as dialects, or corruptions, of the Hebrew, but also the Sanscript and Chinese; for it is taken for granted that Noah settled himself in China, where he died, not, however, before he had visited India.

To point out the tenth part of the endless absurdities attached to this jumble, a lecturer would require more time than I have, and be obliged to

undergo an herculean labour, which would deter many from applying to the task. I shall only observe, that to fix upon any of the languages still in existence, as the mother tongue of all others; or, in other words, to pretend to have found out which of the existing languages was the language spoken by mankind at the construction of Babel, would be as absurd as to declare one's self a witness of the first meeting between Adam and Eve; and to pretend that the invention of the alphabet preceded the birth of Noah, betrays such an ignorance of the origin of the arts and sciences, and of the manner in which they were invented and spread amongst mankind, as to preclude the possibility of reasoning with such men.

The whole, in fact, rests upon a vague and idle tradition which is found amongst the Jews, that Enoch wrote a book of prophecies, in which he spoke of the stars, of the descent of the angels upon earth, of their marriages with the daughters of men, of the dispersion of the Jews, of the last judgment, and other such like topics, intermixed with a great deal more than I can tell. It is further added, that this patriarch wrote this book in consequence of a vision, by which he was also directed to build a temple in the bowels of the earth, the entrances to which should be through nine several and distinct porticos, each supported by a pair of pillars, and curiously concealed from human observation, for the sake of preserving the ineffable characters he had seen in his vision, and

that he did build this temple accordingly. This tradition originated with the Jews and the Arabs, and I am not sure whether it does not exist amongst some of them to this day.

From this tradition an argument is derived, to prove that the invention of letters must have preceded the flood; for they must either have been invented before the birth of Enoch, or, at latest, by this patriarch. Unfortunately, however, for the supporters of this opinion, the book, like the temple, is but a vision; it was a fabrication, or rather a supposition, of the heretics during the first ages of Christianity, who, not satisfied with corrupting the text of Scripture, laughed at the credulity of their followers, by pretending to quote works that had never existed. But even granting that that patriarch had actually written the book, does it follow that he invented the alphabet, or that alphabetical writing was in use in his time? Might not that book have been written in hieroglyphics, that is, by the figure of the objects he meant to designate? To say that he invented the letters because he wrote a book, is to assume the very point in question.

These are all idle stories, generated by the love of wonder and novelty, which seems to form one of the great characteristics of our nature; and from which some, even of the greatest writers, have not been exempt. We may take it, therefore, for granted, that the invention of the alphabet took place in Egypt; and whether the steps and man

ner by which I have endeavoured to explain the mode in which this discovery was effected, be admitted or denied, we may rest assured that it was effected by the Egyptians, who thus became possessed of three different sorts of characters, as we saw in our last Lecture.

The number of characters has also been doubted; for according to some writers, the Egyptians had four different modes of writing; according to others, two; and there have not been wanting those who have defended the opinion, that they had one only, which was the hieroglyphics; for the credit of having invented the alphabet is attributed, by these gentlemen, now to Moses, now to the Phoenicians, now to the Chaldeans, and now to Cadmus. From what has been said, you may judge of the degree of credit to which each and all of these fanciful statements are entitled.

We must pass now to the subject of this Lecture, a very important object of inquiry, and that is, whether the Egyptians had any books of literature and science, and if so, what were they? What was their number? What their nature? All these are very proper and reasonable questions; for as Egypt was always looked upon as the cradle of human knowledge, and the repository of all the historical records which commemorated the progress of civilization and learning, it is but just that we should inquire a little into the grounds upon which this flattering opinion rests.

From the scarcity of monuments, or rather